Films on the Green is going… green! For its second year running, the popular free outdoor French film festival will feature movies about the environment and the beauty of the natural world. Following the remarkable success of last year’s inaugural “Films on the Green,” the Cultural Services of the French Embassy and the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation have once again joined forces to present a selection of seven critically acclaimed French films that will be screened every Friday at sunset in city parks during the months of June and July.

The festival’s opening night will see the U.S. premiere of Home, a feature documentary and global call-to-action directed by famed aerial photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand. Shot entirely from the air, over a two-year period and in 54 different countries, Home gives viewers a new perspective on the planet, and a new awareness of the importance of protecting it. The screening will take place at Cedar Hill (79th St & 5th Ave) in Central Park, on Friday, June 5, in association with the United Nations Environment Programme. In a world first, Home will be released simultaneously in movie theaters, outdoors during public screenings, on DVD, online and on television, all on World Environment Day (June 5) in over 100 countries. Co-produced by Europacorp (Luc Besson’s production company) and Elzévir Films, and with the support of PPR Group, the movie will be distributed for free in a concerted effort to reach the widest possible audience.

 

Three other feature films will complete this environmental series of Films on the Green. The Academy Award winning March of the Penguins, the epic story of penguins fighting to survive in the Antarctic that made nature documentaries cool again, will be screened on Friday June 12. Microcosmos, a spectacular look into the tiny world of insects, with such highlights as bees collecting nectar, spiders wrapping their catch and a mosquito hatching, will play on June 19. Last but not least, The Big Blue, Luc Besson’s timeless and fascinating movie unfolding in the enigmatic world of free-diving, will be shown on Friday June 26. All three movies will be screened in Washington Square Park (see below for more details, including film capsules).

English-language screenings will take place every Friday of June and July (except July 3 and 31) at sunset (around 8:30pm, seating begins at 8:15pm), and will be free of charge.